Become an escape agent

Escape aid is not a crime

Border stories

replacement bus service for refugees

Why escape aid?

Become an escape agent and support people on their way to a better future! For instance, you could give refugees a ride in your car while returning from a holiday in southern Europe.

“Freedom is a necessary requirement for justice”, stated German president Joachim Gauck in his inaugural speech. As long as the iron curtain existed, it was consensus among Western politicians that the right to freely cross borders was a crucial element of a democratic society. But the people who are fleeing today, across the Mediterranean Sea and under deadly conditions, seem not to be entitled to this right. In fact, the so-called Dublin II regulation even prevents refugees and migrants from moving around within our free and democratic Europe once they have reached it. Can it be just to restrict people’s most basic freedoms only on the basis of their nationality? Who actually decides, which person deserves a better life, and which person does not? In East Germany there were people who illegally helped persons flee to the West. Today, the work of these ‘escape agents’ is considered honorable and just. How will today’s flight helpers be judged in 25 years? Flight facilitation remains legitimate, and indeed indispensable for a free and just society, wherever people are reduced in their freedom of movement. This is especially true for a free and just society, like the EU wants to become. “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves” (Abraham Lincoln). As escape agents you can help to make a free society become reality. Within the Schengen Area this does not carry any significant risk and is even relatively easy to do. We know many people who have helped people flee out of their country. But we also know of many ministries and police agencies that are rattling their sabres to prevent this. But this is not a game. For some refugees it is a matter of life and death.

569 successful escape aid operations have been conducted already!

Practical Tips for escape aid

Escape aid within the EU is nothing new. There are many people who have already supported friends or family to migrate through the EU. For us, escape aid is more than a favour among friends. For us, flight facilitation is a political statement in support of the freedom of movement and a powerful example of civil disobedience. In order for flight facilitations to run smoothly, they should be well prepared. Within the Schengen area, there are no border controls - at least not officially. Migration routes within the Schengen area are thus particularly suited for flight facilitation beginners. However, spot checks within border areas exist as attempts to prevent flight facilitations. Should flight facilitators be caught several times in their attempts to provide important assistance to refugees and migrants, states may mobilise heavy sanctions against them, including legal procedures against human trafficking or surveillance of your means of communication. This is why we would like to give you some tips on how to make flight facilitations as safe as possible for yourself and the people whose migration you are supporting.

How do escape agents come into contact with refugees and migrants?

Keep your eyes open! There are many places where refugees and migrants can be found, for example in Northern Italy. Many of them hang around train stations from where northbound trains depart. There are other “hotspots” such as Calais, in France, or the Hungarian border with Serbia. Many refugees are used to being ignored and overlooked by people around them. Therefore it is never a bad idea to approach people and ask how they are doing. Flight facilitation can and should begin slowly, perhaps by inviting someone to have a coffee or tea. Although many refugees depend on flight facilitation, is it important to build up mutual trust before planning a joint flight, so that both sides feel secure. While you are planning your flight facilitation, you should definitely take into account the time that it will take to build up this trust, especially as it may be a rewarding experience for you to familiarise yourself with the situation of refugees. We definitely recommend learning about the situation of refugees in your area and the EU in general; there are plenty of opportunities to do so. After a while you will necessarily make contact with refugees and migrants wanting to travel, and it is those people you can then build up a trust relationship with - if that is not already the case.

Which route should you choose?

Our central aim is to support freedom of movement. Escape aid is possible and necessary on various routes within the EU and into the EU. Flight facilitation is especially required on the Balkan-Route from Greece to northern Europe. For people attempting flight facilitation for the first time, we recommend staying within the Schengen area, where, unfortunately, there is also much work to do. The border controls on the Balkan route are a challenge that require a lot of preparation which exceeds what we can explain here. But within the Schengen area, especially close to the borders, more and more police controls are designed to stop flight facilitations. It is difficult to recommend a particular route, because such controls and spot checks are possible everywhere. As a general rule it is recommended to avoid rest stops close to the border, take back roads and remain unpredictable in your movements.

The vanguard

It can make sense to include a second car with which you would stay in constant contact during your journey. This second car could drive 2- 5 minutes ahead of the car carrying refugees. This is particularly relevant if you are helping more than one person, as this will significantly increase the risk of being caught. If the first car encounters a patrol, the second car can still turn around and take a different route.

How to prepare your car

Since controls within the Schengen area are generally random spot checks, it is important that your car looks inconspicuous. An old VW van in bright colours is not the ideal vehicle for flight facilitation. Ideally the car should look like a regular middle class car. If you don’t own a car that fits this description, it might be a good idea to hire a car, as rentals are usually in a good shape and raise less suspicions than a battered clunker. In addition many rental car agencies offer tinted windows (at an extra cost), which offer extra protection against police officers checking for refugees. There are other ways of making detection more difficult: you can use cheap sun shades that can be stuck against the windows from the inside or tinted foil. The person whose flight is being facilitated should sit in the back, so that they are not immediately seen in case of a control and there should ideally be two people seated in the front who should be wearing neat and inconspicuous clothes. i.e. a “refugees welcome” T-shirt may not be a good idea. A couple appearing to return from a family holiday makes the right impression. Otherwise: flight facilitation is a creative industry: be creative, erratic - don’t let yourself be caught!

How to avoid being suspected of commercial trafficking?

Don’t carry large amounts of cash - if possible don’t carry any cash at all (when buying gas you can also pay by card). If the police stops you and finds large amounts of cash on you they can use this as evidence to accuse you of commercial trafficking! In many cases it is not possible to ask the refugee not to carry cash. However, it still helps if you can at least make sure that you don’t carry any cash yourself. Take a hitchhiking sign with you that indicates the next big cities on your route. In case of a police control you can pretend that you are just giving a lift to a hitchhiker. This helps both you as well as the refugee as it makes it harder to accuse you of having pre-planned this trip. If you want to play it safe don’t take more than one person at a time, since the “acting in favour of multiple foreigners” can be one jurisdictional criterion which determines the application ‘illegal immigration facilitation’ laws (as it is in German law for example). However, on the other hand we do not want to discourage you from helping multiple people. For families it can be very important to not be torn apart and travel separately. But maybe you can also coordinate with several flight facilitators to plan a larger operation with multiple vehicles. Then it is also worth having a second scouting car.

The back office

The back office is very important for you in case you run into a police control during the escape help operation. We recommend you tell some friends about your operation and ask them to be available on the phone for you. You should be in regular contact with those friends during the operation (for how to communicate see “safe communication”). In case your back office doesn’t hear from for a while you they know that something went wrong and can take all necessary steps to help- such as contacting a lawyer as soon as possible.

Authorisation

You should deposit an authorisation letter in your back office that authorizes lawyers of your choice to represent you. In case of your detention during a police control this helps to make sure that your lawyers can get to work right away and you can get out of detention as soon as possible.

Safe Communication

You can assume that flight facilitators are the target of police and governmental surveillance. Therefore please use prior agreed on code phrases when communicating with the back-office or other vehicles. Such codes can be “oh what a wonderful view” for “there are no police controls in the next section”. Especially if you had phone contact with refugees prior to the operation it is important to organize a new SIM card or better even a new phone for the operation, since your personal phone may have became the target of governmental surveillance. You can get a mobile phone for just 10 Euro. Even if the odds of becoming the target of governmental surveillance are small, it is better to play safe!

Refuse to give evidence

In case you get caught by the police, refuse to say anything, no matter what! Talk about this with the refugee prior to your operation. In case of an arrest you both are being asked separately and every small discrepancy between your statements will be used against you. By doing so, the police sometimes even uses dirty tricks such as promising benefits to the refugee such as safe conduct in case they denounce you as a trafficker. This all already happened - without the refugee ever receiving the benefits of course. You should also speak with the refugee about this situation. However, after fleeing through Europe for a bit the refugees probably have lost their confidence in the police anyway. The best option is to refuse to say anything at all. If you did consider all the advice from above the chances for your case being closed are fairly high anyway.

What happens with the refugees after the operation?

What happens with the refugees after the operation depends a lot on their status. In case the refugees have not undergone an identity check already they can apply for asylum at their destination country. However, before they take this step it is advisable to discuss all further actions with an attorney first. Maybe you have the option to let the refugee stay at your place or a friends place for a couple of days until they had the chance to take to a lawyer and to get registered. In this way you can prevent the refugees walking right into a trap at the administrative bodies and giving statements that turn out to be inconclusive at a later point.

Support escape Agents

In case you don’t have a driver's license or don’t feel comfortable giving escape aid in the way described here, there are still plenty of other ways to support escape agents. For example, you can donate to our legal fund that is used to support escape agents or you can support escape agents yourself by providing a back-office or by conducting a diversionary maneuver close to the border that distracts the local polices forces, so they don’t have the capacity to conduct racial controls. For doing so you can also find some nice stickers in our online store. You can also provide a place to stay overnight for the escape agent or the refugee in general. Again: be smart and creative; let's tear down the walls of fortress Europe together and stand up for the freedom of movement!

Keep your eyes open! There are many places where refugees and migrants can be found, for example in Northern Italy. Many of them hang around train stations from where northbound trains depart. There are other “hotspots” such as Calais, in France, or the Hungarian border with Serbia. Many refugees are used to being ignored and overlooked by people around them. Therefore it is never a bad idea to approach people and ask how they are doing. Flight facilitation can and should begin slowly, perhaps by inviting someone to have a coffee or tea. Although many refugees depend on flight facilitation, is it important to build up mutual trust before planning a joint flight, so that both sides feel secure. While you are planning your flight facilitation, you should definitely take into account the time that it will take to build up this trust, especially as it may be a rewarding experience for you to familiarise yourself with the situation of refugees. We definitely recommend learning about the situation of refugees in your area and the EU in general; there are plenty of opportunities to do so. After a while you will necessarily make contact with refugees and migrants wanting to travel, and it is those people you can then build up a trust relationship with - if that is not already the case.

Our central aim is to support freedom of movement. Escape aid is possible and necessary on various routes within the EU and into the EU. Flight facilitation is especially required on the Balkan-Route from Greece to northern Europe. For people attempting flight facilitation for the first time, we recommend staying within the Schengen area, where, unfortunately, there is also much work to do. The border controls on the Balkan route are a challenge that require a lot of preparation which exceeds what we can explain here. But within the Schengen area, especially close to the borders, more and more police controls are designed to stop flight facilitations. It is difficult to recommend a particular route, because such controls and spot checks are possible everywhere. As a general rule it is recommended to avoid rest stops close to the border, take back roads and remain unpredictable in your movements.

It can make sense to include a second car with which you would stay in constant contact during your journey. This second car could drive 2- 5 minutes ahead of the car carrying refugees. This is particularly relevant if you are helping more than one person, as this will significantly increase the risk of being caught. If the first car encounters a patrol, the second car can still turn around and take a different route.

Since controls within the Schengen area are generally random spot checks, it is important that your car looks inconspicuous. An old VW van in bright colours is not the ideal vehicle for flight facilitation. Ideally the car should look like a regular middle class car. If you don’t own a car that fits this description, it might be a good idea to hire a car, as rentals are usually in a good shape and raise less suspicions than a battered clunker. In addition many rental car agencies offer tinted windows (at an extra cost), which offer extra protection against police officers checking for refugees. There are other ways of making detection more difficult: you can use cheap sun shades that can be stuck against the windows from the inside or tinted foil. The person whose flight is being facilitated should sit in the back, so that they are not immediately seen in case of a control and there should ideally be two people seated in the front who should be wearing neat and inconspicuous clothes. i.e. a “refugees welcome” T-shirt may not be a good idea. A couple appearing to return from a family holiday makes the right impression. Otherwise: flight facilitation is a creative industry: be creative, erratic - don’t let yourself be caught!

Don’t carry large amounts of cash - if possible don’t carry any cash at all (when buying gas you can also pay by card). If the police stops you and finds large amounts of cash on you they can use this as evidence to accuse you of commercial trafficking! In many cases it is not possible to ask the refugee not to carry cash. However, it still helps if you can at least make sure that you don’t carry any cash yourself. Take a hitchhiking sign with you that indicates the next big cities on your route. In case of a police control you can pretend that you are just giving a lift to a hitchhiker. This helps both you as well as the refugee as it makes it harder to accuse you of having pre-planned this trip. If you want to play it safe don’t take more than one person at a time, since the “acting in favour of multiple foreigners” can be one jurisdictional criterion which determines the application ‘illegal immigration facilitation’ laws (as it is in German law for example). However, on the other hand we do not want to discourage you from helping multiple people. For families it can be very important to not be torn apart and travel separately. But maybe you can also coordinate with several flight facilitators to plan a larger operation with multiple vehicles. Then it is also worth having a second scouting car.

The back office is very important for you in case you run into a police control during the escape help operation. We recommend you tell some friends about your operation and ask them to be available on the phone for you. You should be in regular contact with those friends during the operation (for how to communicate see “safe communication”). In case your back office doesn’t hear from for a while you they know that something went wrong and can take all necessary steps to help- such as contacting a lawyer as soon as possible.

You should deposit an authorisation letter in your back office that authorizes lawyers of your choice to represent you. In case of your detention during a police control this helps to make sure that your lawyers can get to work right away and you can get out of detention as soon as possible.

You can assume that flight facilitators are the target of police and governmental surveillance. Therefore please use prior agreed on code phrases when communicating with the back-office or other vehicles. Such codes can be “oh what a wonderful view” for “there are no police controls in the next section”. Especially if you had phone contact with refugees prior to the operation it is important to organize a new SIM card or better even a new phone for the operation, since your personal phone may have became the target of governmental surveillance. You can get a mobile phone for just 10 Euro. Even if the odds of becoming the target of governmental surveillance are small, it is better to play safe!

In case you get caught by the police, refuse to say anything, no matter what! Talk about this with the refugee prior to your operation. In case of an arrest you both are being asked separately and every small discrepancy between your statements will be used against you. By doing so, the police sometimes even uses dirty tricks such as promising benefits to the refugee such as safe conduct in case they denounce you as a trafficker. This all already happened - without the refugee ever receiving the benefits of course. You should also speak with the refugee about this situation. However, after fleeing through Europe for a bit the refugees probably have lost their confidence in the police anyway. The best option is to refuse to say anything at all. If you did consider all the advice from above the chances for your case being closed are fairly high anyway.

What happens with the refugees after the operation depends a lot on their status. In case the refugees have not undergone an identity check already they can apply for asylum at their destination country. However, before they take this step it is advisable to discuss all further actions with an attorney first. Maybe you have the option to let the refugee stay at your place or a friends place for a couple of days until they had the chance to take to a lawyer and to get registered. In this way you can prevent the refugees walking right into a trap at the administrative bodies and giving statements that turn out to be inconclusive at a later point.

In case you don’t have a driver's license or don’t feel comfortable giving escape aid in the way described here, there are still plenty of other ways to support escape agents. For example, you can donate to our legal fund that is used to support escape agents or you can support escape agents yourself by providing a back-office or by conducting a diversionary maneuver close to the border that distracts the local polices forces, so they don’t have the capacity to conduct racial controls. For doing so you can also find some nice stickers in our online store. You can also provide a place to stay overnight for the escape agent or the refugee in general. Again: be smart and creative; let's tear down the walls of fortress Europe together and stand up for the freedom of movement!

What stuff do you need?

Escape aid doesn’t only just require good preparation, but also the right gear. The following items can help to conduct illegalised border crossings.

Tinted foil, or sun shades to cover the windows can make it harder for the police to see the person(s) on the back seat.

A marker pen and some cardboard to prepare a fake hitch-hikers sign can prevent an immediate suspicion that a conscious escape aid is happening.

A mobile phone with a new SIM card and no contacts will help protect your network, as governments are trying to prevent escape aid through the surveillance of communication. You can pass on the mobile to refugees, if you want to stay in touch.

Moderately nationalistic decorations for your car, such as Germany flags or Union Jacks may help, as police will not suspect you of engaging in escape aid.

By the way: for a small donation that will go towards campaign costs and a legal aid fund for escape agents, we can prepare this starter kit for you - check out the Crowdfunding section.

Law and legality

In 1977, the German Supreme Court took a morally correct decision: whoever helped refugees “to fulfill their right to freedom of movement, is guided by motives that should be approved of, and is not engaging in morally objectionable behaviour.” Today however, escape agents have become criminalised within the EU. Conducting escape aid today means engaging in civil disobedience. As escape aid is currently not necessary legal (but morally legitimate) within the EU, we would like to mention here the possible consequences that can arise from conducting escape aid. The legal situation is similar in most EU-countries. For escape agents to be legally pursued, it is necessary practically everywhere to have engaged in escape aid repeatedly, and in exchange for actual or promised goods or services. Theoretically, even any assistance supporting illegal entry can be considered as a crime, however we assume that morally motivated escape agents, who are caught are not prosecuted, at least if it was their first time.

We estimate that in most cases, escape agents will not be prosecuted, even if they are caught, or at least will be ‘only’ subject to a fine. Especially if they were caught for the first time. This will be the case, if escape agents are not working to the benefit of several refugees and if they do not receive any money or any other promises in return for the escape aid. In Germany at least, the latter are a requirements for the fulfilment of the crime ‘human trafficking’. However, even if you only take one person with you, in principle, you can be prosecuted according to German law for having aided and abetted illegal entry. But in any case, so called ‘aid cases’ are very rarely pursued and have hardly any relevance for legal practice, as they occur extremely rarely. Courts can make discretionary decisions in this area, which can include considerations of humanitarian motives, for example. It can happen that you are arrested in the context of your escape aid activity, due to being suspected of engaging in human trafficking. In this case, however, it is likely that you will be released quickly. Detention or the confiscation of your car will only be possible if it is commensurate to the suspicion. For detention to be possible, there has to be, in addition, a reason and a suspicion that you may flee. In any case, there are a number of things which will make it difficult for the authorities to accuse you of human trafficking (more info on this under ‘tipps’). In principle the rule “innocent until proven guilty” applies. Even “aiding and abetting” has to be proven as a conscious effort, as you yourself are not responsible for upholding border controls. For example, if you take a hitchhiker on board, it is not your responsibility to check his or her papers.

We cannot guarantee legal protection. However, we do have contact to some lawyers who are able to able give you guidance in case of problems with the law or the police. Furthermore, we are building up a legal aid fund to support escape agents meeting potential legal costs.

What can happen to escape agents?

We estimate that in most cases, escape agents will not be prosecuted, even if they are caught, or at least will be ‘only’ subject to a fine. Especially if they were caught for the first time. This will be the case, if escape agents are not working to the benefit of several refugees and if they do not receive any money or any other promises in return for the escape aid. In Germany at least, the latter are a requirements for the fulfilment of the crime ‘human trafficking’. However, even if you only take one person with you, in principle, you can be prosecuted according to German law for having aided and abetted illegal entry. But in any case, so called ‘aid cases’ are very rarely pursued and have hardly any relevance for legal practice, as they occur extremely rarely. Courts can make discretionary decisions in this area, which can include considerations of humanitarian motives, for example. It can happen that you are arrested in the context of your escape aid activity, due to being suspected of engaging in human trafficking. In this case, however, it is likely that you will be released quickly. Detention or the confiscation of your car will only be possible if it is commensurate to the suspicion. For detention to be possible, there has to be, in addition, a reason and a suspicion that you may flee. In any case, there are a number of things which will make it difficult for the authorities to accuse you of human trafficking (more info on this under ‘tipps’). In principle the rule “innocent until proven guilty” applies. Even “aiding and abetting” has to be proven as a conscious effort, as you yourself are not responsible for upholding border controls. For example, if you take a hitchhiker on board, it is not your responsibility to check his or her papers.

Who helps when I face legal problems?

We cannot guarantee legal protection. However, we do have contact to some lawyers who are able to able give you guidance in case of problems with the law or the police. Furthermore, we are building up a legal aid fund to support escape agents meeting potential legal costs.

On the European level, escape aid is governed by the Council Directive 2002/90/EC of 28 November 2002 “defining the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence”. In particular Article 1 is relevant for escape aid.

In Germany, Escape Aid is governed in the Law of Residence, Employment and Integration of Foreigners (Residence Law), in particular §§ 95 ff. Escape aid is governed in particular in § 96. Furthermore § 27 StGB for aiding to escape aid may be relevant.

In Austria, § 114 and § 120 paragraph 3 of the Aliens' Police Act are relevant for the conduction of escape aid.

Help us to build up a legal aid fund! Already 17.780 € have been donated so far to support escape aid.

You are an escape agent, or you want to become one?

If you were/are an escape agent, you are eligible for the European Cross of Merit. Your support aid is as honourable as the escape agents in the former German Democratic Republic. So, if you have conducted escape aid, tell us, and recieve a Cross of Merit. Please note, that the contact form is not encrypted. If you plan to conduct further escape aid, we recommend to send us an email which is encrypted by PGP or to contact us over the encrypt.to-form. If possible even set up a separate, anonymous email address, so that the metadata doesn’t leave a trace of your identity. This also applies if you would like to become an escape agent and would like to contact us for further questions. Or if you got caught and would like to approach the legal aid fund. For the award ceremony of the Cross of Merit we recommend sending a personal representative which can collect the Cross of Merit on your behalf. This makes it very hard for the state to make you liable for your escape aid operation.